Needed to learn how to tune again... There's a big difference between a 5-lug casted and a 6-lug stamped hoop. Getting things tuned up the first time was fairly awkward.

Needed to re-learn self balancing. What worked for a Renown doesn't work for a GW, and toms will leap out at you. Dynamics are out of whack.

Needed a second drummer to play while I dialed in the kit. There are elements of a kit's sound that required me to sit back and listen to someone else play. I tried iterating with the microphone and short recordings, but it was torture and slow going.

Tuxedo its are terrifying.... Every time to need to remove/add a tension rod is like playing a nerve-racking game of "Operation" while you pray you don't scratch your shiny new finish.

I learned to balance on the Renown. After a while, I stopped having to listen so critically and started intuitively knowing what the response would be when I threw a stick against a head. The intuition I learned on the Renown didn't carry over, and I have to go back to the listening phase to get reoriented.

The bottom line is that I'm always forgetting and hitting the toms on the GW way too hard, and need to fix that.

I feel your pain. After almost 20 years I lost or forgot some of the finer details. I'm thankful for Google. I've got my tuning almost where I want it. I'm still tweaking my setup, and my coordination is coming back. I have to resist handling the kit with gloves on, I'd hate to scratch it.

But damn it sounds good and is so much fun to play. I haven't picked up any of my basses, except for one gig, since I've gotten the drums.

Quote:

Originally Posted by KamaK

Some of the funny things from my first week with a new kit...

Needed to learn how to tune again... There's a big difference between a 5-lug casted and a 6-lug stamped hoop. Getting things tuned up the first time was fairly awkward.

Needed to re-learn self balancing. What worked for a Renown doesn't work for a GW, and toms will leap out at you. Dynamics are out of whack.

Needed a second drummer to play while I dialed in the kit. There are elements of a kit's sound that required me to sit back and listen to someone else play. I tried iterating with the microphone and short recordings, but it was torture and slow going.

Tuxedo its are terrifying.... Every time to need to remove/add a tension rod is like playing a nerve-racking game of "Operation" while you pray you don't scratch your shiny new finish.

I learned to balance on the Renown. After a while, I stopped having to listen so critically and started intuitively knowing what the response would be when I threw a stick against a head. The intuition I learned on the Renown didn't carry over, and I have to go back to the listening phase to get reoriented.

The bottom line is that I'm always forgetting and hitting the toms on the GW way too hard, and need to fix that.

Okay, I see now where you're coming from. When I switched over from my Yamaha e-kit to my acoustic Gretsch, I had the same problem. Once I had acoustic drums in my hands, though, the Yamahas never got touched again - until I sold them.

I find the 5 lug Gretsch to be hard to tune with my method. I rely on an even number of lugs.

The thinner the shell trickier it gets. Individual components have a more pronounced effect on thinner shells. My Pearl drums with the 7.5 mm thick shells were a breeze to tune from jump street. I don't want my drum shells to be able to support HumVees lol. A tom tree with some toms will suffice.

I had a tough time initially tuning my DW Collectors. I don't know why, because now I can tune them easily. So I'm pretty sure it's me that was the problem. It's probably you too ha ha. Each new brand you get is like a whole new system you have to develop.

Having a shiny piano black lacquer mirror finish...that's like having Naomi Campbell for a wife....High upkeep ha ha.

a thing to remember is how fortunate and thankful one is to have a new kit. I could afford more kits but am grateful to have any. Love what you have and life is good.

It's better to want what you have, than to have what you want...

It's amazing how even a change of look will give you a whole new perspective on the same instrument. I repainted my bland looking 2003 Telecaster from a ho hum shade of white, to a nice creamy yellow and got a black 3 ply pickguard...Now I cannot stop playing it. It looks so delicious. You really do hear with your eyes.